In some ways, it seems silly to write about this topic in connection with being a writer. What am I afraid of anyway? It’s not as though I’m going into battle. Nobody’s going to wave a sword or a gun…
Blog Archives
Interview with R.L. King
R. L. King is an indie author and game freelancer for Catalyst Game Labs, publisher of the popular role-playing game Shadowrun. She has contributed fiction and game material to numerous source books, as well as one full-length adventure, “On the Run,”…
Tagged with: interview, R.L. King, Stone and a Hard Place, The Forgotten
Posted in Author Interviews
Posted in Author Interviews
Writing What You Know
This is common advice, along with write from your heart. But sometimes, when things are said in sound bites, it’s easy to become confused. After all, if we only write what we directly know, we could never have a story set…
Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, character, research, setting, writing what you know
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Point-of-View–Which One Should I Use?
Authors have many options when it comes to choosing the character lens through which readers will view their stories. Each one has its own strengths and pitfalls. First person–this happens to by my go-to POV, the one that I feel…
Tagged with: Cathleen Townsend, first person, omnicient, second person, third-person limited
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Nat Russo on Adverbs and ‘Show, Don’t Tell’
I’ve seen many authors struggle with the adage ‘show, don’t tell.’ Some try to show everything, and their story gets so bogged down in description that the story takes place at a glacial crawl. And while I agree that showing…
Criticism: Friend or Foe?
Criticism can be either helpful or destructive, depending on the state of mind of the critiquer and the writer receiving it. Writing takes enormous amounts of both self-confidence and humility. You have to think your words are worthwhile, or you’ll…
Interview with Margaret Lesh
Margaret Lesh is the author of the novels Normalish, Mr. Katz is a Zombie, and Finding a Man For Sylvia, as well as her memoir Let Me Get This Off My Chest: A Breast Cancer Survivor Over-Shares. She believes tacos are…
Interview with Stephanie Bibb Flint
Stephanie Flint is the author of 1000 Words: A Collection of Short Stories (written under her maiden name, Stephanie Bibb), and Ashes, a prequel short story. She writes fantasy and science fiction. Her next book, Magic’s Stealing, will be available…
Tagged with: 1000 words, Ashes, Brandon Sanderson, Cathleen Townsend, interview, Magic's Stealing, Stephanie Bibb, Stephanie Flint, writing
Posted in Author Interviews
Posted in Author Interviews
Antagonist–What Kind Do You Have?
Your antagonist is extremely important to your story. The antagonist must be enough of a threat to bring your protagonist to his/her knees, to cause them to grow beyond what they could have ever done otherwise. Antagonists can be of…
Tagged with: antagonist, Cathleen Townsend, conflict, natural disaster, rival, self, villain
Posted in Writing
Posted in Writing
Cathleen Townsend 